Round 4- Nurburgring, Germany
This weekend’s Le Mans Endurance Series 1000km race at the Nurburgring in Germany will be a dream come true for Scotsman Gregor Fisken. The London- based classic car dealer has quickly moved up the ladder of modern endurance racing this year. 2005 is Gregor’s first year in prototypes racing and he has already seen success in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) with a third place in LMP2 at the Sebring 24 Hours and a win in Portland with Intersport Racing. Gregor also competed in the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours in June but his Intersport Lola B05/40 AER was forced to retire into the night whilst leading the LMP2 class.
A delighted Fisken said: “I am so happy to move up to LMP1 with Team Jota. It is amazing to think that only a year ago, as I was preparing for the Goodwood Revival meeting, the organisers asked me if I would mind sharing the famous ex-works Jaguar E-Type Lightweight in the TT with young Courage works driver and LMP2 champion Sam Hancock. I obviously agreed and we instantly became friends.”
Gregor continued: “After the TT race, Sam suggested that as I was successful and quick in classic cars I should try some real racing cars from his world! This got me really excited and in January Sam kindly organised a test at Magny-Cours with the 2004 Championship winning Courage LMP2 car. It went very well but still at this time I never thought I would have the opportunities and results I have had this year.”
On moving up to the LMP1 class, Gregor Fisken added: “At the beginning of the year, I honestly thought that I would stay in LMP2 for at least one full season. Then, if 2005 went well, I would maybe look at an LMP1 drive for 2006. Unfortunately, I enjoyed driving the Lola this year so much in America and Europe that I started to seriously think about it this summer. Then I went to Silverstone for the 1000km race and couldn’t race following a frustrating failed promise of a drive in an LMP2 car, which lead to another broken promise last week from the same team. Then this opportunity with Team Jota came about and I haven’t touched the ground ever since!
“I am delighted to join Sam Hignett, John Stack and such a great team,” continued Fisken. “They are very professional, they showed at Le Mans how competitive the team was and the Zytek 04S is a fantastic car. We didn’t have time to test before the race, so I will be thrown in at the deep end this weekend! I suppose the down force and the grip of the chassis will be the main difference compared to a competitive LMP2 car such as the LOLA AER. I am fit and well prepared for this race and I will do my best to reward John and Sam’s faith in me.”
Team boss Sam Hignett said: “We are very pleased to have Gregor in the car for the Nurburgring race. Team Jota is doing well in the Championship this year and with our regular driver Haruki Kurosawa unable to race this weekend due to a clash with another race, we needed a quick and consistent driver to replace him. We found that in Gregor and we are delighted to welcome him on board.”
International ADAC 1000km Nurburgring (Time difference: BST plus 1 hour):
Friday 2nd September
1.30pm – 2.30pm: Free Practice
4.45pm – 5.45pm: Free Practice
Saturday 3rd September
10.25am – 11.25am: Free Practice
1.30pm – 2.10pm: Qualifying
Sunday 4th September
8.30am – 8.50am: Warm-up
11.45am – 5.45pm: Race
live TV coverage, motorstv.com
